Wave shaping circuit



Oct- 19, 1954 D. D. HOLMES 2,692,333

WAVE SHAPING CIRCUIT Filed Aug. 2, 1951 Patented Oct. 19, 1954 WAVE SHAPING CIRCUIT David D. Holmes, New Brunswick, N. J., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application August 2, 1951, Serial No. 239,917

1 claim. 1

This invention relates to electrical wave shaping circuits, and more particularly to wave shaping circuits designed to compress one part of a signal and to expand another part of that signal.

In the image reproducingv arts, it is often necessary to reproduce an image of a scene by a medium having a smaller range of light values than the range of light values in the original scene. For example, in both black-and-white and color printing, the transparencies derived by the photographic process ordinarily have a ratio of maximum to minimum light transmission on the order of 200:1 Whereas the paper on which the image is to be reproduced may have a corresponding ratio of only 20:1. A similar situation exists in television owing at least in part to the limitations of the reproducing kinescope used in receivers.

Unless remedial steps are taken, small variations in intensity of the original scene that take place at light levels beyond the range of the reproducing medium are lost. For example, if a persons face in the transparency or in an actual scene reflects more light than the reproducing means can handle, the face appears -in the reproduced image as being pasty white. All the iine shadings representative of delicate facial contours are lost. If a neutral filter is employed to limit the maximum amount of light applied to the reproducing medium, fine shading in the dark portion of the scene may then be below the minimum light capacity of the reproducing means.

Accordingly, it has been suggested that the linearity of the reproducing system be altered so that all intensity variations, whether they are in a light portion of a scene or in a dark portion, may be reproduced in some degree. The nature of this non-linearity is normally such that a given change in light input to the reproducing system as it is derived from a dark area produces a greater change in output of the reproducing medium than a similar change in the light portions of the scene. Thus, the light areas are compressed in intensity and the dark areas are expanded in intensity. This particular type of non-linearity is selected because the eyes response characteristics are such that small variations in the output of the reproducing medium in light areas appear to be comparable to larger changes in dark areas. The degree of nonlinearity of the reproducing system is generally termed the gamma of the system, and may be defined as the power to which the light input must be raised to give the output. Thus,

(cl. '25o-27) LozKLirwhen Li is the light input, L0 is the lighty output, y is the gamma, and K is a constant.

circuit that Awill alter the linearity of a signal transmission path.

Another object of the invention is to provide a circuit that will compress one part of an in-` put signal and expand another part of that signal.

According to the present invention, the linearity of a signal is altered by providing an electrical control network having two signal paths, one of which has a substantially linear signal transfer characteristic and one of which has substantially an exponential or power law signal transfer characteristic, i. e., has an output voltage which is substantially a function of some power of the input voltage. paths are added in reverse phase (i. e. subtracted) and the resulting transfer characteristic approximates a root characteristic, i. e. the output voltage is approximately a function of some root of the input voltage. The resulting transfer characteristic gives the desired gamma correction.

Other and incidental objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specication and an inspection of the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a block diagram of apparatus embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 shows by circuit diagram an embodiment of the present invention, and

Figure 3 shows by circuit diagram anothe embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to Figure 1 there is shown a source of signals 5, which by way of example has been shown as a source of television signals. A signal 1, varying linearly from black (B) to white (W), is shown at the output of the signal source 5. The signal I is fed to a linear circuit 9 having a linear transfer characteristic. The signal 1 is also fed to a non-linear circuit II having an exponential transfer characteristic. The output signals of circuits 9 and I I are shown at I3 and I5 respectively. Signals I3 and I5 are then fed into an added circuit I1 whose output I9 is the sum of signals I3 and I5. The output signal I9 is then fed into a utilization circuit 2 I.

The linearity of signal 'I has been altered as can be seen from signal I9. Gamma correction has thus been introduced, the black portions of the signal having been expanded with respect to the White portions, and the white portions compressed with respect to the black portions.

The output signals of bothl It can be seen that the signal 1 has gone through circuit 9 to become signal I3 without having undergone a phase shift. On the other hand signal 1, which emerges as signal I5 from circuit II, has undergone a 180 phase shift. The output I9 of the adder circuit I1 may be considered as the sum of signals I3 and I5. It may also be considered as the difference of two signals, since the two signals are 180 degrees out of phase with respect to one another when they are added.

As used in this specification, the term adderr circuit means a circuit capable of doing an algebraic addition, and as such comprises circuits capable of adding two signals as well as circuits capable of subtracting two signals. Such circuits are well known in the art, and are discussed, for example, in Chapter 18 of Waveforms, vol 19 of the M. I. T. Radiation Laboratory Series, Mc- Graw-Hill, 1949.

Referring now to Figure 2, a signal 1 is applied through coupling capacitor 23 to the input electrode 25 of an amplifier tube 21 which has a linear transfer characteristic. A clamp circuit 29 is shown connected to the electrode 25 in order to preserve the direct current level of signal 1. The particular clamp circuit shown is known in the art and is discussed in an article entitled Tele- Vision D. C'. component by K. R. Wendt in the RCA Review for March 1948. The amplifier tube 21 is connected as a cathode follower, and an output signal I3, taken from the cathode 3l of amplifier tube 21, is applied to the input electrode of tube 33 of the adder circuit I1. The signal 'I is also applied to the input electrode 35 of an amplifier tube 31 which has an exponential transfer characteristic. Variable resistor 39 and fixed resistor 4I form a voltage divider designed to vary the plate potential of tube 31. Resistors 43 and 45, as well as capacitor 41, provide the screen grid bias of tube 31. The output signal I5 of tube 31 is applied to the input electrode 49 of a tube 5I through a capacitor 52. A clamp circuit 53, similar to clamp circuit 29, is connected to the input electrode 49 of tube 5I. Tube 5I is connected as a cathode follower: its output signal is taken from a resistance 54 connected between its cathode 55 and ground. The output signal of tube 5I is applied by means of lead 51 to the input electrode of tube 59 of the adder circuit I1, the amount of signal thus applied being controlled by means of sliding contact 6I. The output signal of adder circuit I1 is shown as signal I9.

The shape lof signal I5 may be varied somewhat by changing the value of resistor 39, While the amount of signal I5 applied to the adder I1 may be changed by moving the sliding contact 6I. Thus the shape of the output signal I9, representing the gamma correction, can be varied.

Referring now to Figure 3, signal 1 is applied through coupling capacitor 63 to the input electrode 65 of an amplifier tube 61 which has a linear transfer characteristic. A clamp circuit comprising rectifier 69 and resistor 1I is shown connected to the input electrode 65 of tube 61. Tube 61 is connected as a cathode follower and its output is fed through circuit having a non-linear circuit characteristic, and comprising resistors 13 and 15 and rectifier 11 to the input electrode 19 of tube 8| of adder circuit I1. The input electrode 19 of tube 8| is connected to a source of positive potential through a variable resistor 82 and to ground through a fixed resistor 8.3. The signal 1 is also applied to the input electrode 84 of an amplifier tube 85 which has a linear transfer characteristic. Tube 85 is connected as a cathode follower; its output is taken from a resistor 81 connected between its cathode 89 and ground. The output signal of tube 85 is applied by means of lead 9I to the input electrode of tube 93 of the adder circuit I1. The amount of signal thus applied being controlled by means of sliding contact 95. The output signal of adder circuit I1 is shown as signal I9.

The shape of signal I5 may be altered by changing the Value of resistor 19, while the amount of signal I3 applied to the adder circuit I1 may be changed by moving the sliding contact 95. Thus the shape of the output signal I9, representing the gamma correction, may be varied.`

What is claimed is:

A wave shaping circuit for altering the gamma of television picture signals, said circuit comprising a first amplifier having input and output terminals and having a steady state signal amplitude transfer characteristic which is substantially linear, a second amplifier having input and output terminals and having a steady state signal amplitude transfer characteristic such that its output voltage is substantially a function of some power greater than unity of its input voltage, means for varying the transfer characteristic of said second amplifier such as to vary the curvature of said characteristic, means connecting together the input terminals of said first and second amplifiers, means to apply television picture signals with their direct current component preserved to the input terminals of both said first and second amplifier, means associated with each of said first and second ampliers to preserve the D. C. component of the television picture signals going therethrough, an adder circuit, a utilization circuit connected to said adder, and means for applying signals from the output terminals of said first and second amplifiers with substantially opposite polarity to said adder circuit such that the output signal of said adder representing the difference between the television picture signals which have gone through both said amplifiers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,315,539 Carson Sept. 9, 1919 2,118,626 Smith May 24, 1938 2,271,876 Seeley Feb. 3, 1942 2,299,945 Wendt Oct. 27, 1942 2,496,723 Hipple, Jr. Feb. 7, 1950 2,509,987 Newman May 30, 1950 2,552,588 Reeves May 15, 1951 

